Week of December 8th, 2008--SCIENCE!

Nathan Hale 10th graders are learning about DNA, and are conducting a sophisticated lab involving gel electrophoresis. Here's the flow chart detailing the lab procedures that students use to guide their work:



And here are Biology students working together and being guided by their teachers:






Physics students build spaghetti bridges, learning about the relationship between shape and strength:



Students in AP Environmental Science are conducting a soil lab:






Thank you to our creative and talented Science teachers!

Physics is Phun--Continued

Physics and Ninth Grade Science teacher Mr. Englert uploads daily class work on the "teacher tube" website. Here is a sample of what our students can see to help them along as they master the inner workings of the universe.

Mathematics at Nathan Hale

Curious about Mathematics at Nathan Hale?

Check out the IMP (Interactive Mathematics Program) website for research, articles, and information. Follow this link.

Curious about a specific class at Nathan Hale? Check out this teacher's Math website.

Nathan Hale Students at Fort Flagler

Nathan Hale students have the chance to experience the wonders of Washington's varied outdoor destinations through the Inner City Outings program. Here are students at Fort Flagler. Watch for regular fliers advertising upcoming ICO trips, or contact Ms. Balint for more information!

Common Principles at Work

Personalization
Teaching and learning should be personalized to the maximum feasible extent.
December’s CES Common Principle

Student-as-worker, Teacher-as-coach
The governing practical metaphor of the school should be student-as-worker, rather than the more familiar metaphor of teacher-as-deliverer-of-instructional-services.
January’s CES Common Principle

My father was raised by a cattle rancher. Although they lived in the city during the winter months, in the summertime his family lived and worked on the Alberta prairie. Dad was a diligent farm hand, but never aspired to be a rancher. He was a scholar and poet with teaching in his blood, and he eventually became a professor. But he often drew lessons from those hot dusty summers as both teacher and parent.
He told me that once when he was just six or seven years old his father asked him to take two large work horses to the trough for some water. These were huge animals, Clydesdales, and my dad remembered looking at their hoofs, seeing that each one was as big around as his face. He was terrified by their size and power, and not at all sure that he could get them safely to water and back. But he also knew that his father knew his strengths and limitations, that he was a skillful rancher, and that he would not have given my dad the job if he did not think he could do it. He took those horses to the trough and back, still scared, but ultimately confident and proud.
I think of this story often as I watch our students and teachers at work. We ask students to do difficult, often daunting tasks. Sometimes they feel overwhelmed, but remember that true learning takes place in that space just beyond comfort, the “zone of proximal development”. Our students thrive in these challenges only when they are confident that we know them well, their strengths and their limitations, what they’re capable of accomplishing, and when we are ever-present as coaches, giving them the skills, confidence, and encouragement they need to be successful.
Your input and feedback are vital to personalization. You know your students best! Please continue to share your insights and observations with us as we strive to create a truly personalized learning experience for each student. And on those long nights before a project deadline or a chapter test, remember that you are also a coach and cheerleader, providing encouragement and guidance. Ultimately, our students must learn how to learn independently, but when we stay with them through the difficult times, they become more able to take risks and discover their gifts.
I want to thank you sincerely for your regular communication and feedback, and for the time and energy you give to your students and to the school. I wish you a joyful and abundant holiday season.

Marni A. Campbell, Principal

Evidence of students as workers?

Drama students direct themselves with hilarious results:

Student leaders at work:

Much Ado About Nothing

Come see the witty, sometimes outrageous plotting and scheming of young students at Messina University in this updated version of Shakespeare's comedy.

Beatrice and Benedick spar their way into love, while Claudio and Hero struggle to overcome the plotting of jealous onlookers who would thwart their love.

Oh, and there's a Grand Constable named Dogberry. He's hilarious!

The play runs on December 4th, 5th, 6th, 11th and 12th at 7:30 in the Performing Arts Center. Congratulations to our talented students and their director, Ms. Baird.

Students at Work!

As seen in the hallways of Nathan Hale . . . next stop, the runways of Paris? Student work from our Fashion Illustration class:




Last week on November 20th, Nathan Hale students worked for a healthier, more peaceful community by promoting the National Smokeout day and National Transgender Remembrance day:



Students in the Nathan Hale Gay Strait Alliance raised awareness on National Transgender Day of Remembrance by creating displays throughout the school honoring the memory of transgender teens who have been subjected to violence. Thank you GSA for your hard work!

Learning in action . . .

Jazz band performing at the Groundbreaking ceremony:



Biology timeline:

High Leverage Strategies

During our August professional development days, we talked as a staff about developing "high leverage" strategies that maximize our energy for optimal student learning. Archimedes, the Greek Scientist who articulated the law of the lever (see here for more information), is reported to have said, "Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth."

One of the high leverage strategies we're committed to is creating public records of student learning. Student learning, progress, and understanding should be the primary focus of the classroom, and when it is visible, in a print-rich environment, we maximize classroom time.

Here's an example of a public display of student understanding from a 9th grade Language Arts classroom:

SENIOR ALERT!!!!

Nathan Hale Seniors, please note the following important Senior Culminating Project deadlines:

1. Parent/Guardian Signature Sheet was due to your Mentorship teacher on October 15th. It must be turned in in order for you to be on track to complete your Senior Culminating Project and be on track to graduate!

2. Culminating Project Expert Advisor/Mentorship Agreement sheet is due in Mentorship class this week, either Wednesday, November 12th, or Thursday, November 13th.

3. Culminating Project Proposal Paper is due in Mentorship on Wednesday, December 3rd. See here for Senior Culminating Project guidelines, dates, and sample proposal papers and the grading rubric.

Questions? Ask your mentorship teacher or Ms. Rebecca Ross (rbross@seattleschools.org).

KNHC Pledge Drive

Nathan Hale's award-winning radio station is in the midst of its annual pledge drive. Take a look at our hardworking citizens in action:



Nathan Hale students give countless hours of work to make sure that KNHC is a successful, well-run radio station. Congratulations to students and to teacher Gregg N.

Starry Starry Night

Here is a beautiful piece of art created by a Nathan Hale student in Ms. K's Ceramics class.

Eye in the Sky

We have installed a new web camera on the Northeast corner of the building in order to keep an eye on our construction site. It's also a great way for you to check in on our construction progress and enjoy the shifts in sun, stars, moon, and clouds. Check it out here!

There is a permanent link to the webcam on this blog and on the Nathan Hale website for your viewing pleasure!

Here also is a link to a very important research study released last November (2007) by the National Endowment for the Arts about Reading in America. Check out the study here and consider the following:

"This report shows striking statistical links between reading, advanced reading skills, and other individual and social benefits," said Sunil Iyengar, NEA Director of Research and Analysis. "To Read or Not to Read compels us to consider more carefully how we spend our time, since those choices affect us individually and collectively."

An recent article in The Seattle Times said that Nathan Hale students spend time every day "just" reading. Consider the benefits of reading cited in the article above, and the incalculable benefit of creating a community that truly values reading. Thank you for supporting reading at Nathan Hale!

Math--Raider Style

Our students do deep mathematical thinking about principles as well as procedures:



We keep it fun!

What's happening?

• Wednesday October 29th is an early release day. The school day will end for students at 1 pm. Nathan Hale staff members will be engaged in professional development.



• Nathan Hale athletes are having a great season! Football, soccer, volleyball, and cross country athletes are all doing incredibly well! Read this article about Senior night for our Varsity football team, and check out this link for detailed information. Thanks to our cheerleaders for keeping our spirits high!
  
  
• Nathan Hale debaters had a great day in Gig Harbor on 10/25. They took home three trophies, and all of the Raiders placed in the top 10 in their respective events. Their next tournament will be November 14-15, at Tahoma High School.

Go Raiders!

Home-home-homecoming

What is Homecoming all about at Nathan Hale?

It's about celebrating the spirit that is so unique to our school.

We dress up in thematic costumes.

Jungle day:



Mr. Case day:



(That's Laura D. showing us how it's done, dressed as a tennis ball in honor of our beloved Racquet Sports teacher!)

We engage in a little friendly grade-to-grade competition for points by having a tug-of-war, a yell contest, and daily contests for participation in lunchtime activities.

We decorate our lunchroom, with each grade level working on a different theme:

Seniors were Greek gods . . .



Ninth graders were Cavemen (they built a great cave!)



The week culminated in a great football game and a wonderful dance. All in all, our students showed their spirit of community and commitment.

Physics . . . and volleyball!

Here you see assembled the humble tools that will help our young scientists understand velocity!



Raider Women play volleyball with power and grace!

Just In Case You'd Like To Know . . .

Five things to know about the 12th grade at Nathan Hale . . .

• 09 Seniors shine!
• Seniors should have a color portrait taken for the yearbook. A CD copy of the photo needs to be delivered to the yearbook staff no later than October 17th.
• Senior Class meeting is on October 22. This is when our 12th graders will get cap and gown and grad invitation information. Check for the packet!
• Seniors should be working on their Culminating Projects. Mentorship teachers support students through the process. Rebecca Ross (rbross@seattleschools.org) is the staff lead for Culminating Projects. All CP documents are on our website!
• Keep in touch with the school counselor (A-G Reynolds, H-N Jones, O-Z Shin) to make sure that all graduation requirements are in place.


Five things to know about the 11th grade at Nathan Hale . . .

• ALL 11th graders will be taking the PSAT, free of charge, on October 15th at Nathan Hale.
• This is a great year to experiment with an interesting elective or two! Get involved in athletics, or try out the school musical or a new club!
• Stay in close touch with your counselor (A-G Reynolds, H-N Jones, O-Z Shin) to keep track of graduation requirements.
• Remember to work on service learning hours (students need 60 to graduate), and start planning for the Senior Culminating Project.
• Go for the AP credit!


Four things to know about the 10th grade at Nathan Hale . . .

• WASL dates: Reading-March 16th and 17th; Writing-March 18th and 19th; Math-April 13th and 14th; Science-April 20th and 21st.
• Students register for 09-10 classes in Mentorship class in February.
• ALL 10th graders do quarterly inter-disciplinary projects.
• Students should plan to take advantage of AP opportunities in the 11th grade; there may be summer work between 10th and 11th grade for students who want to do AP. Check with teachers in the Spring.

Four things to know about the 9th grade at Nathan Hale . . .

• Get ready for Exhibition Nights! The first one is on October 28th.

• In our 9th grade academies, students have rotating blocks of extended-time classes (either Health/Science or LA/SS) for just 10 weeks. Since they have extended-time block classes, they receive a full semester of credit for the 10 week period.

• Check your student’s log books daily to see what is due.

• Students do 100 minutes of silent reading each week at Nathan Hale. Make sure your student has a book every day!

Check out our website at www.seattleschools.org/schools/hale

". . . the school's design should be shaped by the intellectual and imaginative powers and competencies that the students need, rather than by "subjects" as conventionally defined. The aphorism "less is more" should dominate: curricular decisions should be guided by the aim of thorough student mastery and achievement rather than by an effort to merely cover content. " October’s Coalition of Essential School’s Principle

If you visit the Nathan Hale campus at lunchtime, you’ll see teacher and coach Hoover Hopkins, walkie-talkie in hand, rain or shine, walking the school grounds. He doesn’t have to do it, but Hoover considers it part of his responsibility as an educator to help ensure that students are healthy and safe.

Last year, Hoover received every possible award for his excellence as a football coach. He led the Raiders to a Metro Sound Division title and the state playoffs, acquiring honors and adulation along the way. But that’s not all: he also hosted a successful after-school homework club for his athletes, and led an athletic program that has the highest participation rate of any Seattle High School as well as some of the highest numbers of scholar-athletes.

What’s Hoover’s secret? He sees his work in terms of the “intellectual and imaginative powers and competencies” of students on the field of play, in the classroom, and even at lunchtime. Hoover teaches a few key principles and teaches them with depth: teamwork, integrity, discipline, and high expectations. He is a passionate lifelong learner and models the skills he teaches every day.
Throughout our school, you will find similarly dedicated educators working in many capacities, from the Teen Health Center to a Physics classroom to the Library, all with the same fundamental focus. Regardless of what “subject” we teach, we all teach students how to be honorable, thinking, skillful citizens.

The year is off to a wonderful start, with construction proceeding on the east end of the school. By next year, we will have a new Library, new Art classrooms, a new home for our Radio program, and a new Fitness Center. Thank you for your support as we move forward to create a physical space that reflects our role as both heart and beacon to the community. Watch the Raider Reader and the Seattle School website for regular construction updates (http://www.seattleschools.org/area/bex/index.dxml). You can also check out up-to-date Athletic information at http://www.halesports.org/index.php.

Thank you for your trust in Nathan Hale. It is an honor to work with you and your students each day!

PSAT Testing at Nathan Hale

VERY IMPORTANT NEWS: On Wednesday October 15th, ALL 9th, 10th, and 11th graders at Nathan Hale (and in all Seattle High Schools) will be taking the PSAT (Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test) as directed by the Superintendent’s Office. The testing is free, and your students do not need to register. Testing will take place in classrooms with Nathan Hale teachers administering the tests. You should be receiving a detailed notice from Seattle Public Schools regarding the upcoming testing.



Some key details:



1. On Wednesday October 15th, Twelfth graders should not come to school until lunchtime (12 pm).
2. There will be a full roster of classes on Wednesday afternoon, October 15th.
3. We have created an adjusted schedule to ensure that students are not missing any classes on the 15th and 16th. This schedule will be printed in the Daily Bulletin and posted on the Nathan Hale website.
4. Students should plan to bring at least two pencils and if possible a basic four function calculator for testing. We will have extra pencils and calculators available.
5. Encourage your 9th and 10th graders to see this as an excellent time to practice the skills required by the PSAT. Their scores will not appear on their transcripts or any other official documentation. We are holding testing in their classrooms so that they feel as comfortable as possible.

6. For more information, visit the Seattle Schools website at www.seattleschools.org/area/psat/.


Thank you!



Marni Campbell, Principal

Seen and Heard at Nathan Hale, Part 2

Here's a view of room 104, where students are learning about life under the sea. In this unique program, where students work hard to develop both receptive (receiving information) and expressive (sharing understanding) skills, our students have many opportunities to do both broad thinking and intellectual deep diving!



Biology and Chemistry teacher Mr. F.S. performs his "Cellular Respiration" song, featuring lyrics like "it's in the mitochondria, it's forming ATP." (ATP is adenosine triphosphate, the nucleotide that transports energy within cells and is an essential component of metabolism.)




Students are working on site improvement projects in our Horticulture program. In groups they had to brainstorm, research, and present a proposal for improving the Horticulture site. Here some students work on the pond:



And here you can see rows of beautiful poinsettia plants. Students in Horticulture and Ecology classes learn to grow healthy, beautiful plants using integrated pest management techniques.(Read about integrated pest management here)



And here are students in Nutrition class learning to bake muffins!



Eleventh grader US History students are learning about the conditions that led to the Revolutionary war. In both US History and Language Arts classes they are learning to analyze rhetoric, and are studying Thomas Paine's "Common Sense," identifying effective rhetorical techniques in his prose.

It's a great time to be a student at Nathan Hale!

Seen and Heard~September 24, 2008

• In a 9th grade Social Studies class, students have been given this task: "Imagine that it is 1947 and you have been asked to come up with your own plan for the partition of Palestine. Answer the following questions with your group member--a) What factors do you think should be considered in your partition plan? Think about things like geography, history, population, and the promises that were made at the time. What do you and your group members think are the most important issues to be considered? b) What will your group aim to achieve with your partition plan?

Student conversation sounded like this: "It's hard to balance all of the different factors like history and geography." "If it's not a fair plan, there will be conflict."

Tip of the Day~Nathan Hale Artists

Follow this link to a wonderful page about Nathan Hale artists!

http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/hale/art_web/Index.htm

Autumn Images

Ms. K, our wonderful Drawing, Painting, and Ceramics teacher, is temporarily housed in a lovely portable on the banks of Thornton Creek. Nathan Hale artists enjoy the rich late-summer light in their studio:



Of course, what could be better on a beautiful fall day than an afternoon of football?

Join us for our first Varsity home game this Friday, September 19th, and come back for Freshman Football Night on Saturday, September 20th!



And finally, our Cross Country team stretches in the mellow autumn air:

Nathan Hale and the Coalition of Essential Schools

After conducting an intensive five-year study of American High Schools in the early 1980s, Education professor Ted Sizer and his fellow researchers concluded that if American students were to become engaged, inquisitive, critical thinkers, the basic structure of High School needed to change. We had evolved a system of “shopping mall” high schools, full of scattered and superficial learning, anonymity, and too few daily opportunities for sustained rigorous thinking.
Sizer, then a professor at Brown University, founded the Coalition of Essential Schools (he also founded the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown). The Coalition was a consortium of High Schools committed to doing High School differently. They articulated10 Common Principles that would guide the work of creating school communities that would truly prepare students for any challenge.
In 1997, Nathan Hale High School took a bold step by becoming a member of the Coalition of Essential Schools. Since then, Nathan Hale has been at the forefront of school reform in the Northwest and in the nation. Nathan Hale regularly hosts visitors from around the United States and beyond. They come to see the unique and successful programs Nathan Hale has created.
The abbreviated Ten Common Principles, developed to guide High School reform, are as follows:
1. The school should focus on helping students learn to use their minds well
2. Less is more, depth over coverage
3. Goals apply to all students
4. Personalization
5. Student-as-worker, teacher-as-coach
6. Demonstration and exhibition of mastery
7. A tone of decency and trust
8. Commitment to the entire school—teachers are generalists first
9. Resources dedicated to teaching and learning
10. Democracy and equity (this principle was added in the mid-nineties)
(For more thorough language, visit http://www.essentialschools.org/pub/ces_docs/about/phil/10cps/10cps.html)
Each month as a school we will focus on a different Coalition Principle. September’s principle, helping students learn to use their minds well, is evident in our schedule, which provides longer blocks of time on Wednesdays and Thursdays for all students, and every day for our 9th graders. We know that students think more deeply and are able to engage in more complex tasks when they can spend more than 50 minutes in a particular academic class. As I visit classrooms this month, I will be looking for how we do and do not create opportunities for students to develop intellectual stamina, make connections, and challenge themselves as writers and problem solvers.
School transformation is a continuous process, and we need your input. Please let me know if you see ways we can improve our work.I am delighted to welcome you, new families, and to welcome you back, returning families, to this great learning community. Above all, we strive to create a personalized learning experience, and a community where each student feels valued and respected.
Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year!
Marni Campbell, Principal

First Week

Hello Nathan Hale!



So many exciting things are happening this week. Here are just a few highlights:

• Our 9th graders are acclimated to high school, and already have their log books set up and ready to go.
• Family members and students helped stuff information packets--thank you! Watch for your packet, with important information, to come home next Wednesday, September 10th.
• After-school homework help will be available in the Library starting on Monday, September 15th.
• 10th grade Biology students have been finding spiders around our Nathan Hale grounds.
• Our athletic teams are practising, preparing, and working for excellence. Here is a far away photo of our Raider Soccer stars:

• And our September CES common principle reminds us that our first and foremost work as a learning community is to help students learn to use their minds WELL.